OpenAI is already the top AI software company, but it’s still looking to move into other adjacent areas.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has said that the company will eventually start making hardware consumer devices. “We want to make devices over time,” Altman said at an event. “We’re still trying to work on first one. But that this idea that computers can now understand and do things should mean that there’s all sorts of interfaces to build. So you could think about headsets, you could think about things that sit on a desk, you could think about these totally new things that weren’t possible before AI. It’s going to take us a while to get away through all of those though, but we’re very excited to get going,” he added.
“It’s gonna be a while, but we will try to make something you love,” he told an audience member. “Something we love? Maybe it might be a headset or it might be a,” the audience member replied. Altman smiled, but was non-committal. “Nothing. Nothing. But something great,” he said.
There have already been a few attempts at making hardware devices that built on the capabilities of A. Humane, founded by ex-Apple executives, had launched a pin that attached itself to people’s shirts and understood voice commands with basic vision capabilities. The product created the some initial buzz, but most customer reviews were less than flattering, and the company has largely since disappeared. Another AI startup named Friend had come up with a concept to create a device that users could wear around their necks, but that doesn’t seem to have made much headway either.
Traditionally, it’s been tricky for software companies to move into hardware. Google had famously launched its Google Glass eyewear wearable in 2012, but the device was perhaps too ahead of its time, and never managed to become mainstream. Meta and Snap have also launched eyewear products over the years, but they haven’t become nearly as popular as their software products. OpenAI, though, seems intent on creating hardware — it has recently begun hiring for robotics roles, and there are rumours that it wants to build humanoid robots. And with its CEO explicitly saying that it wants to create consumer-facing products, it might not be long before OpenAI takes a stab at the consumer hardware space as well.